A studio cop, an aspiring actress who uses what she’s got to get what she wants, a cross-dressing action star, a mysterious death – all are elements in this novella set in 1940s Hollywood... but the real subject of Digby’s Hollywood Story is story-telling itself, an examination of our need to make sense of the world by casting the chaos of life into the form of narrative.

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Thomas Fuchs lights up Digby's Hollywood Story. ~ Vanity Fair

Sometimes an incident can change your entire life. Imagine getting washed up on a private beach and being found by a rich business mogul that runs a movie studio in Hollywood. Questioned by the family that found you and yet taken home by chauffeured limo, you are treated royally but offered a job at the studio. Roger Digby’s life changed for the better that day as he decided to give up his job as a gas station attendant and take on one as a studio cop. But, life working at this studio would be anything but boring or mundane.
Wait until you read the surprise ending because who knows what author Thomas Fuchs has in store for Digby and what other stories he will tell in Digby’s voice. Great novella with much food for thought as you meet some Hollywood moguls, those just in it for glory and money and others who will do anything to cover-up truths that need to remain buried. Digby is a character that I would like to see more of in a larger role in a novel. Digby’s Hollywood: What is real and what are the stories he sees within his mind! One simple rescue: One life changing experience!
https://tillie49.wordpress.com/2015/11/ ~ Fran Lewis, Just Reviews/MJ Magazine

At just 67 pages, this novella was a great little story, full of insights behind the scenes at a big studio after the war. Digby, ex-veteran that he is and used to obeying orders, learns his life lessons the hard way, but was a likeable chap and you wanted him to come out well from it. I always enjoy novels set in and around the old film studios, and this thin slice of Hollywood noir was engagingly written, I wanted more.
Read more: http://www.annabookbel.net ~ Annabel's House of Books, http://www.annabookbel.net

“Digby’s Hollywood Story”, by Thomas Fuchs
Review by John Venegas
In an age of literature written for television and movies, an age of sequels and reboots, and an age of selfies, one wonders at the cultural relevance of storytelling through the written word. No, I don’t think visual mediums will replace literature in the way that video cassettes, DVDs, and the Internet were supposed to ruin the cinematic experience. But after reading Thomas Fuchs’ “Digby’s Hollywood Story”, I can’t help but consider the significance of story itself.
This novella is a tease, the kind of tease that excites and frustrates, but which leaves you with a generous taste of profundity. The elements are all present for rich, melodramatic noir: a down to earth fella with a badge and a nose for trouble; mysterious dames that radiate seductive power and vulnerability; big money and big cover-ups; a sudden, suspicious event with dire potential consequences for our hero. But embedded in it all is a commentary so meta that it leaves your expectations in a chalk outline.
Fuchs has made a grandiose point about the stories we tell ourselves in a wonderfully subtle and ironic way. He handles his noir with care, knowing you’ve read The Maltese Falcon or The Killer Inside Me, luring you back into the genre with the light and shadowy hand of slow-burn tension. Then his twist emerges, and it is one that should have been painfully obvious, but its cleverness lies in the fact that the reader blinds himself or herself to the truth of the matter. The story knows you want to be deceived, that you want to be Digby, at the center of some grand illusion where only you can save the day and get the girl and mete out justice.
This novella is very much worth the read, whether you are a casual reader or someone with a personal library. The writing is, like Digby himself, straight-forward and direct. It delivers its atmosphere and tone with a minimum of fuss and it avoids the excesses that can plague so much of crime noir. Despite the short length, the story manages to take its time and develop its protagonist in a very compelling way, and it achieves this through not wasting time in anything that is not needed to move forward. Moreover, the commentary provides a layer of depth that is valuable to anyone with the creative impulse, especially where storytelling is concerned.
But, and consider this your fair warning, be prepared to consider this story’s implications for the culture we live in today. By the end of the read, you may very well be left wondering if you have been wasting time trying to get your life to fit a cliché narrative. ~ Angel City Review, Angel City Review